Bellano closes shop in San Jose’s Willow Glen

Bellano Coffee will refocus its efforts on its downtown San Jose and Santa Clara locations.

The fast-growing Bellano Coffee, which just six months ago took over the Top Nosh spot on Willow Glen’s Lincoln Avenue, has announced it was forced to close its doors in the Garden Theater.

“We tried to grow too quickly, too soon,” the Ruckman family said in a letter to their customers that was posted on the Willow Glen Charm Facebook page.

“Bellano began at our original coffee house on Stevens Creek Blvd, followed by the opening of Bellano 2 at San Pedro Square Market. We then moved forward on our most aggressive and entrepreneurial steps, including roasting our own brand of beans, and more recently, expansion into the former Blackbird Tavern in Downtown San Jose, where at the renamed Social Policy, we added a café and began our own bakery program.

“Simply put, this is an issue of overexpansion which created financial challenges to operate multiple locations. We plan to re-focus on our roasting, Social Policy and B2.”